Sheikh Hasina calls up Vajpayee, expresses regret over incident

By C. Raja Mohan

BANGLADESH, APRIL 23 Bangladesh today came in very strongly at the highest political level to express regret at the inhuman treatment of Indian security forces on the border.

In a telephone call late tonight, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Ms. Sheikh Hasina, promised the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, that her Government will conduct ``a full and thorough'' investigation into ``all aspects'' of the tragic incident on the Indo-Bangla border, in particular the torcher of the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and the disrespect shown to the jawans.

The call from Dhaka reflects the recognition of the intensity of the hurt feelings in India at the despicable treatment meted out to the BSF personnel by the Bangladesh Rifles men.

During Ms. Hasina's call to Mr. Vajpayee at 11.00 p.m., lasting 30 minutes, the latter conveyed to the former ``the deep sense of anguish'' at the ugly turn of events on the Indo-Bangla border.

Ms. Hasina's call was preceded by a telephonic conversation between the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Mr. Abdul Sammad Azad, and the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh. After the call from Mr. Azad, Mr. Singh briefed Mr. Vajpayee about the latest developments on the diplomatic front.

The unambiguous expression of regret by Bangladesh and the promise from Dhaka to investigate into the incident has defused the political tension between the two countries and allow them to face together the common adversary who is trying to disrupt Indo- Bangla amity and friendship.

A brutal act, says India

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 22. The Government today described the killing of Border Security Force jawans by Bangladesh Rifles personnel last week as a ``brutal act of murder'' after a high level review of the incident at the Prime Minister's residence where through a presentation it was ``confirmed'' that at least eight jawans had been shot ``at point blank range''.

Even as reports from Shillong indicated that a decomposed body of one more jawan - identified as Havildar Dhyan Chand - and two injured constables - Akshay Kumar and Bimal Kumar - were handed over at Mahendraganj, Meghalaya, to the BSF commandant, Mr. S. C. Zutshi, this afternoon, there was no clear word from the Government on the course of action it would follow besides lodging strong protests.

After the meeting which lasted just under two hours, the Union Home Secretary, Mr. Kamal Pande, said it was clear that eight of the bodies handed over on Saturday were ``mutilated with multiple injuries'' while another bore ``strangulation marks''.

He confirmed that the bodies of eight jawans ``bore point-blank bullet wounds'' and that there was no getting away from the harsh fact that ``it was a brutal act of murder''. While a detailed autopsy report was awaited, preliminary post-mortem reports had confirmed these findings.

The Minister for Defence and External Affairs, Mr. Jaswant Singh, the Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr. K. C. Pant, the National Security Adviser, Mr. Brajesh Mishra, the Foreign Secretary, Ms. Chokila Iyer, and the Director-General of the Border Security Force, Mr. Gurbachan Jagat, attended the meeting. Mr. Jagat, who had toured the area on the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya and Assam where the clash had occurred, apparently made a presentation to the Prime Minister and explained in detail what had transpired.

The situation was discussed on the basis of the BSF's report and presentation.

`Unilateral action'

The Government, it was said, was awaiting a detailed report on the basis of a first-hand account by the injured jawans who were handed over to Indian authorities this afternoon, Mr. Pande said. Only then would the Government be able to come to some conclusion on the cause of the incident, especially when India and Bangaldesh enjoyed a friendly relation. Mr. Jagat, present at the briefing, was virtually prevented from fielding any questions with Mr. Pande insisting on answering them.

The Government was insistent that the Bangladesh Rifles had acted independently of the Government in Dhaka, that it was a ``unilateral action'' by the BDR personnel. In fact, it immediately brought to mind the first reaction of the Government to the Kargil intrusion when it had said the Pakistan Army had acted without the knowledge of the Nawaz Sharif government. The then Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, had given a certificate of innocence to the former Pakistan Prime Minister.

Quoting the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary, Syed Moazzem Ali, as reported in a newspaper interview here, Mr. Pande said Mr. Ali must have spoken with ``responsibility'' and that he (Mr. Pande) had no occasion to doubt Mr. Ali's claim of his government's innocence.

Report awaited

Mr. Pande said India would await the report of the inquiry ordered by Dhaka into the incident. ``We presume it will be an open inquiry and Bangladesh will share the results.''

For the present, all that Mr. Pande shared was that in Pyrdiwah, the BSF border outpost was taken by Bangladesh Rifles who had dug trenches, indicating the force had the support of engineers. The post was later re-occupied by the BSF. In Boraibari on the Assam border, a BSF patrol party had been ``captured/hijacked'' and eight of its members brutally murdered.

While accepting that the incident had resulted in resentment among BSF jawans, the Government denied any intelligence failure.

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